Our Volumes


The Selected Papers of John Jay are published by the University of Virginia Press.

Published

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Volume 1: The Selected Papers of John Jay, 1760–1779
Edited by Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Mary A. Y. Gallagher, and Jennifer E. Steenshorne. Introduction by Jack N. Rakove
April 2010

Table of Contents    Introduction    Chronology    Index

Volume 1 covers Jay’s education and early career, his growing political involvement, and his role in Revolutionary politics, as a member of the Continental Congress, co-author of the first constitution of the state of New York, and president of the Continental Congress.

 

Volume 2: The Selected Papers of John Jay, 1780–1782
Edited by Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Mary A. Y. Gallagher, and Jennifer E. Steenshorne.
May 2012

Volume 2 sees Jay emerging as a diplomat, as he sails to Spain with his wife Sarah and their nephew Peter, to negotiate an ill-fated treaty with the Spanish Crown.

Table of Contents    Introduction    Chronology    Index

 

Volume 3: The Selected Papers of John Jay, 1782–1784
Edited by Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Mary A. Y. Gallagher, and Jennifer E. Steenshorne.
June 2013.

In Volume 3, Jay joins John Adams and Benjamin Franklin in Paris to as one of the Ministers Plenipoteniary appointed to negotiate the Peace with Great Britain. His pivotal role in this delicate negotiation is explored.

Table of Contents    Introduction    Chronology    Index

 

Volume 4: The Selected Papers of John Jay, 1785–1788
Edited by Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Mary A. Y. Gallagher, Robb K. Haberman, and Jennifer E. Steenshorne.
Fall 2015

Volume 4 focuses on Jay’s activities as Secretary for Foreign Affairs, founding member of the New York Manumission Society, and co-author of the Federalist Papers.

Table of Contents    Introduction    Chronology    Index

 

Volume 5: The Selected Papers of John Jay, 1788-1794
Edited by Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Mary A. Y. Gallagher, Robb K. Haberman, and Jennifer E. Steenshorne.
2017

Volume 5 opens with the ratification of the Constitution, and covers Jay’s role in the forming the new government as acting Secretary of State prior to Jefferson’s taking office and as first Chief Justice of the Surpreme Court. Also explored are his gubernatorial campaigns of 1792, the Genet Affair, and the events leading to the negotiation of the Jay Treaty with Great Britain.

Forthcoming

Volume 6: The Selected Papers of John Jay, 1794-1798
Edited by Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Mary A. Y. Gallagher, Robb K. Haberman, Jennifer E. Steenshorne, and Brant M. Vogel.
2020

Volume 6 opens with Jay's negotiation of the "Jay Treaty" with Great Britain and the heated public debate over its ratification. Jay's election as governor of New York in 1795, his role as unofficial advisor to President Washington, and his activities as governor, dealing with Yellow Fever epidemics, refugees, and fortifying the port of New York.

 

Volume 7: The Selected Papers of John Jay, 1799-1829
Edited by Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Robb K. Haberman, Jennifer E. Steenshorne, and Brant M. Vogel.
2021

The volume examines Jay’s final two and a half years as governor and the passage of the law ending slavery in the state of New York, Jay’s conflicts with the Council of Appointment, and his concerns over the rise of the Republican Party in New York and throughout the nation. The volume then explores the years of Jay’s retirement. During these three decades, Jay devoted himself to managing his Bedford estate, aiding philanthropic and religious causes, participating in political discussions and activities during the War of 1812, and keeping abreast of family affairs.

 

Digital Edition

Volumes 1-3 of the Digital Edition of The Selected Papers of John Jay were published by the University of Virginia Press in January 2015, as part of their America's Founding Era collection on Rotunda. Subsequent volumes follow, appearing approximately 10 months after print publication. The Jay Papers thus join other founding collections, including the Papers of George Washington, John Adams and his family, Eliza Lucas Pinckney and her daughter Harriott Pinckney Horry, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Dolley Madison, and Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and Andrew Jackson as well as the Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution and the People of the Founding Era project. Visit Rotunda here.